giving thanks

May 31, 2013

I suck at writing thank you notes. But I want my kids to be good at it. Maybe it’s like biennial raspberries, where the canes grow for one year and then produce fruit the next? My mom is an epic thanker. In fact she thanks thankers which can get sweetly, tediously circular. Maybe I am the cane between two berries.

So I am happy to be the skipped generation if I can pass the proclivity along to my children. And, it’s like a special bonus for me that the only way to make it happen for them is to do it myself!

Margot graduated from preschool yesterday which carried with it a gushing pile of emotions for this mama. We spent the afternoon watching a movie while I counted her freckles, scratched her long arms and made her favorite dinner. I checked in many times with this photo — a snap of the first and last days of school. My bug, my heart.

I might not be good at writing and sending cards but I am good at hugging and using words. And I am good at gift-giving. We especially love the challenge of meaningful gifts. This usually means handmade or homespun, with the added benefit of my kids thinking about the recipient’s unique likes while crafting — infusing the gift with appreciation. The best!

This year’s we love our teachers (and administrators!) gifts were simple: violas in thrifted juice glasses and handmade cards. To make the card holder, I split the top of popsicle sticks using a kitchen knife.

At the end of last school year, Margot drew with fabric markers on fabric and we then turned her creation into hot pads (with two layers of batting – one heat resistant, one cotton). I machine quilted over her drawings.

And now we are officially onto sunshiney months of togetherness in tents, on hillsides, in garden plots, through home renovations and over potlucks. We don’t schedule much during our summers, loving the breezy, open every-morning question of what should we do today? Yes, I do love that so much.

LOVE the hot pad idea, though the violas are awesome too. I immediately did a google search for fabric markers. Isn’t it funny how deliberate we get about instilling in our kids the very things we ourselves never seemed to grasp? I am terrible about thank you cards too. And when I go underwater, I still have to *think* about how not to get water up my nose. So anyway, my kids get swimming lessons at least once a year, despite a 2-hour round trip to the pool.

the thank you tradition is a good one to keep up. my boyfriends grandmother taught his family to write them by simply stopping sending money in birthday cards if she didn’t get a thank you card the year before.

also the the juice glasses are such a good call. now i want to go thrift in search of them.

Jennifer

June 2, 2013 at 8:05 PM

Have you made a decision yet about school for the fall? I know it’s a big one, but facing a summer of adventure I could see how easy it would be to transition into homeschooling.

There is a lot of talk about it in our home. We have come to a decision that feels good to us. I’ll share more as it unfolds! xo

Kate

June 3, 2013 at 6:50 PM

I can’t get over the photo of your girls going up the trail. Beautiful , blog, you have here.

The hollyhocks print fabric in that hot pad is delicious, too. I have to get down the highway to a fabric store, now. ~:p

BRH

June 4, 2013 at 11:44 AM

Oh wow! I looked at those photos and thought one was Ruby now and Margot now. Wow has she changed! 🙂 Such a great post. And what lucky teachers to receive those wonderful, heartfelt gifts. Good on you.